Who conquered Baghdad. How the conquest of Baghdad by the Mongols predetermined the development of the entire Islamic world

• 1 Preparing for the trip
  • 1.1 Troop strength
  • 1.2 Christian involvement
• 2 Departure of troops
• 3 Defeat of the Nizaris
• 4 Conquest of Baghdad
• 5 Syrian campaign
• 6 Actions of the Kitbook Corps
• 7 Notes
• 8 Bibliography
  • 8.1 Sources
  • 8.2 Literature
• 9 Links

Preparing for a hike

Mongke, proclaimed kagan of the Mongol state in 1251, decided to continue the wars against the Song Empire and the unsubdued states of the Middle East. One of the reasons for the Middle East campaign was a complaint filed by the inhabitants of Qazvin and the mountainous regions of Persia to Mongke about the harm caused to them by the Nizari Ismailis (known in the West as Assassins, and in the East as Mulchids, that is, heretics). According to Rashid ad-Din, “since many of the heretics who sought justice for injustice handed themselves over to the noblest discretion, Mengu-kaan sent his brother Hulagu-khan to the regions of the Tajiks against the heretics in the year of the bull.” The Mongol commander Baiju, who was based in northern Iran, also complained to the Khan about the Ismailis and the Baghdad Caliph. Möngke ordered Hulagu to destroy the mountain fortresses of the Ismailis, subjugate the Lurs and Kurds, and conquer the possessions of the caliph if he did not show obedience.

Troop strength

Juvaini, followed by Rashid ad-Din, reported that each ulus had to put two people out of every ten soldiers into the Hulagu army. But this can only be a figure of speech, meaning "a very large army," since the same expression is found in Juvaini under 1246, when Guyuk sent Iljidai to war against the Ismailis.

The anonymous author of the work Shajarat al-atrak (XV century) writes that Mongke gave Hulagu one-fifth of all the Mongols fit for service, and this amounted to 120 thousand people. Mu'in ad-Din Natanzi reports that Hulagu set out from Mongolia, accompanied by 70,000 men. And according to the testimony of the monk Magakia (Grigor Aknertsi), an Armenian historian of the 13th century, the number of Hulagu’s troops reached 70 thousand: “they came from the east ... seven khan’s sons, each with a fog of horsemen, and the fog means 10,000.”

Modern researchers are trying to calculate the size of the Hulagu army, based on the number of military leaders mentioned in the sources - 15-17 people. If every commander is a temnik, then the Mongol army should have had 150-170 thousand people. However, the tumen only theoretically included 10,000 warriors; the actual number could be less.

Chinese engineers were assigned to the army to service stone, arrow and flamethrower machines; The number of Chinese is estimated differently, from a thousand to four. In addition to the Baiju troops, the troops of Dair Bahadur stationed in Kashmir passed under the supreme command of Hulagu. On the route of the army, careful preparation was carried out: bridges were built across the rivers, roads were fixed; the tribes that roamed the territory through which the army was supposed to move were driven from their places; huge warehouses of food and fodder were prepared.

Christian Participation

Hulagu sympathized with the Buddhists, but generally used adherents of different religions for his own political purposes. However, his eldest wife, the influential Dokuz Khatun, was a Christian and patron of Christians. Naiman Kitbuka was a Nestorian. Finally, the king of Cilician Armenia, Hethum I, entered into an alliance with the Mongols, who in 1248 sent his elder brother Smbat Sparapet (Smbat Gundstable) to the Mongolian capital of Karakorum, and later, at the invitation of the great Khan Munke, set off on his own. After spending fifteen days visiting the khan, having received exemption from taxes and guarantees of military assistance, the Armenian king returned to Cilicia. He was also able to attract the Antioch prince Bohemond to an alliance with the Mongols by marrying his daughter to him. The Mongol army was also joined by Christians from the Middle East, Assyrians and Greeks, who saw the Mongols as liberators.

The speech of the troops

Hulagu left Mongolia in October 1253, but moved extremely slowly. In 1254, he was in Almalyk and Ulug-Iva with the ruler of the Chagatai ulus Ergene-khatun, and in September 1255 he was received near Samarkand by the Mongol governor of Maverannahr Mas "ud-bek, the son of Mahmud Yalavach. Such a leisurely movement was due to the opposition of the head of the Ulus Jochi Batu, who did not want to let the imperial army go beyond the Amu Darya, the territory behind which he considered as a sphere of influence of the Jochids.An important role was played by the position of Berke, Batu's brother, who stated: "We built Mengukan, and what does he reward us for this? By the fact that repays us with evil against our friends, violates our treaties... and covets the possessions of the caliph, my ally... this is something heinous". Mongke did not want to quarrel with Batu, so no decisive offensive was undertaken until the death of the latter (1255/1256). Nevertheless, back in August 1252, an avant-garde under the command of Kit-Buga-noyon, numbering 12 thousand, set out from Mongolia, which from March 1253 acted against the Ismailis in Kuhistan, besieging repost Girdekuh.

Defeat of the Nizari

In January 1256, Hulagu, having replenished his army with Jochid units provided by Sartak, crossed the Amu Darya and laid siege to the Nizari fortresses in Kuhistan (Elburs). Not relying only on military force, Hulagu launched a diplomatic offensive, demanding that the imam of the Nizari Rukn-ad Din Khurshah surrender. There was a pro-Mongolian party among the Ismailis, to which belonged the famous Persian scholar Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi and the physician Muwaffik ad-Doule, grandfather of Rashid ad-Din, the famous minister of the Hulaguid state. Under the influence of this party, Khurshah agreed to surrender the fortresses in exchange for the preservation of life and possessions. However, as soon as Hulagu felt that Khurshah was trying to buy time and dragging out the negotiations, he launched an assault on the Meimundiz fortress, where the imam was. As a result, Khurshah was forced to surrender. Hulagu sent him to Mongolia, to Mongke, who was supposed to decide the fate of Khurshah. On the way, in Central Asia, on March 9, 1257, Rukn ad-din Khurshah, apparently on the secret orders of Möngke, was killed. At the same time, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi became the adviser and personal astrologer of Hulagu.

Most of the Ismaili fortresses in Kuhistan surrendered without a fight within a year and were destroyed. Only a few, including the famous Alamut, who capitulated on December 15, 1256, put up little resistance. The Mongols had the hardest time during the siege of Girdekuh, which lasted for years.

The historian Juvaini, who served Hulagu, got acquainted with the rich book depository of Alamut. The manuscript “Serguzasht-i seyidna”, dedicated to the life of Hasan ibn Sabbah, kept there, was used by Juvaini in his composition. He managed to keep the library from being plundered, but he personally burned that part of the records where Ismaili dogma was given.

Conquest of Baghdad

Having done away with the Nizari, Hulagu demanded obedience from the Baghdad caliph al-Mustasim. The caliph, presumptuously rejecting the ultimatum of the Mongol commander, did not, however, have the strength to resist him. Among the dignitaries surrounding the caliph, there was no unity regarding the measures to be taken to defend the country. In addition, al-Mustasim refused to pay salaries to the mercenary army, and it was disbanded.

The Abbasid field army under the command of Fath ad-din ibn Kerr was defeated on the banks of the Tigris by Baiju's troops. In early 1258, Hulagu, Baiju and Kit-Buga completed the encirclement of Baghdad. First, the siege weapons came into action, and then the assault began. By mid-February, the city was in the hands of the Mongols. In the beginning of the beating of the inhabitants, Christians were spared (at the request of the Nestorian Dokuz-Khatun, the eldest wife of Hulagu) and Jews, whom the Mongols considered as their allies, since they were oppressed under the caliphs. Al-Mustasim, who surrendered, on the orders of Hulagu, was forced to show the secret treasuries of the Abbasid rulers, and then, on February 20, he was executed.

In the same period, the noyon of Uruktu was sent to capture the city of Irbil. Its ruler Taj ad-Din ibn Salaya submitted to the Mongols, but the Kurds defending the fortress refused to surrender. The long siege did not bring success. Only the summer heat forced the Kurds to leave Irbil, and it was occupied by the Mongol ally Badr ad-Din Lulu, atabeg of Mosul.

Syrian campaign

After the conquest of Baghdad, Hulagu settled down in the vicinity of Maraga in East Azerbaijan. In August 1258, he received here Muslim rulers who arrived to express their obedience, in particular, Badr ad-Din Lu'lu, atabek Sa'd from Fars, brothers Izz ad-Din Kay-Kavus II and Rukn ad-Din Kilich-Arslan IV from Konya Sultanate. Badr al-Din Lu'lu sent his son Salih to serve Hulagu.

On September 12, 1259, Hulagu's army marched west. the vanguard was the forces of Kitbuki, on the right wing - Baiju and Shiktur, on the left - Sunjak, the center was commanded by Hulagu himself. The Mongols occupied Ahlat, defeated the Kurds in the surrounding mountains. Salih was sent to conquer Amid (now Diyarbakir), and Hulagu captured Edessa. Then Nisibin and Harran were taken.

The Mongols crossed the Euphrates and called on the governor of Al-Muazzam Turan Shah to surrender the city. the answer to the refusal On January 18, 1260, they laid siege to Aleppo. the troops of the Christian allies of Hulagu, Hethum of Armenia and Bohemond of Antioch, also participated in the siege. The city was occupied for a week, but the citadel held out until 14 (according to other sources, 26) February. After its capture, the Mongols staged a massacre, which was stopped six days later on the orders of Hulagu. Of the defenders of the citadel, only one Armenian goldsmith was left alive. Hethum burned down the Mosque of Aleppo, saving the Jacobite church. Hulagu returned to the Armenian king some areas and castles taken from him by the Khaleb rulers. Bohemond was given the Aleppo lands, which had been in the hands of the Muslims since the time of Salah ad-Din.

On January 31, the Ayyubid sultan an-Nasir Yusuf, having learned about the fall of Aleppo, retreated with an army from Damascus to Gaza. Damascus surrendered to the Mongols without a fight, and on February 14 (according to other sources - March 1) Kitbuka entered the city, appointing a Mongol manager there.

Actions of the Kitbook Corps

After receiving news of the death of the Great Khan Mongke, Hulagu with the main part of the army retreated to Transcaucasia (June 1260). Relatively small forces were left in Kitbuk (10-20 thousand or even 10-12 thousand including reinforcements from the allied Armenians and Georgians). Hulagu left his commander with such a small army, apparently having misjudged the strength of his opponents in Egypt; perhaps he was misled by information received from prisoners captured in Syria. On the other hand, Hulagu was forced to take the lion's share of the troops, probably realizing that soon after the death of Möngke, a conflict with the Jochids over disputed territories in Transcaucasia would inevitably break out. Kitbuk was instructed to preserve what had already been conquered (Baybars al-Mansuri's information). According to Ibn al-Amid, he also had to keep a close eye on the Franks of the coastal crusader states. Hulagu himself, in his letter to Louis of France (1262), reports that Kitbuka was ordered to conquer the Ismaili fortresses in northern Syria.

Kitbuka continued his conquests from Syria to the south - to Palestine, capturing Baalbek, al-Subeiba and Ajlun, the Mongols entered Samaria and brutally cracked down on the Ayyubid garrison of Nablus. Further, the Mongol detachments occupied Gaza without hindrance, the Ayyubid Sultan an-Nasir Yusuf was captured and sent to Hulagu, the Mongol garrisons of 1000 people were stationed in Gaza and Nablus. An army of Egyptian Mamluks under the command of Kutuz and Baybars moved towards Kitbuk. On September 3, 1260, the Mongol army was defeated at the battle of Ain Jalut. Kitbuga was captured and executed.

Notes

1. Approximately corresponds to 1253 AD. e.
2. Rashid al-Din. Collection of annals. - 1960. - T. 2. - S. 144.
3. Rashid al-Din. Collection of annals. - 1946. - T. 3. - S. 22.
4. 1 2 Amitai-Preiss R. Mongols and Mamluks: the Mamluk-Īlkhānid War, 1260-1281. - P. 15.
5. History of the Mongols monk Magakia, XIII century / Per. K. P. Patkanova. - M., 1871. - S. 24.
6. 1 2 Rashid al-Din. Collection of annals. - 1946. - T. 3. - S. 23.
7. History of Iran from ancient times to the end of the 18th century. - L., 1958. - S. 185.
8. Vernadsky G. V. Chapter II. Mongol Empire // Mongols and Russia. - Tver, M., 1997.
9. Gumilyov LN The search for a fictional kingdom. S. 224.
10. From the writings of Ibnfadlallah Elomari // Collection of materials related to the history of the Golden Horde / Per. Tizengauzen V. G. - St. Petersburg, 1884. - T. 1. - S. 246.
11. The Cambridge history of Iran. - 1968. - V. 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. - P. 351.
12. Amitai-Preiss R. Mongols and Mamluks: the Mamluk-Īlkhānid War, 1260-1281. - P. 40.
13. Amitai-Preiss, p. 32.
14. Jean Richard, p.428
15. Amin Maalouf, p.264
16. Tyerman, p.806
17. Amin Maalouf, p.262

Bibliography

Sources

• From the writings of Ibnfadlallah Elomari // Collection of materials related to the history of the Golden Horde / Per. V. G. Tizenhausen. - St. Petersburg, 1884. - T. 1. - S. 245-246.
• History of the Mongols monk Magakia, XIII century / Per. K. P. Patkanova. - M., 1871.
• Kirakos Gandzaketsi. History of Armenia / Translation from ancient Armenian, foreword and commentary by L. A. Khanlaryan. - M.: Nauka, 1976.
• Rashid al-Din. Collection of Chronicles / Translated from Persian by Yu. P. Verkhovsky, edited by Professor I. P. Petrushevsky. - M., L.: Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1960. - T. 2.
• Rashid al-Din. Collection of annals / Translation by A. K. Arends. - M., L.: Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1946. - T. 3.

Literature

• Vernadsky G. V. Chapter II. Mongol Empire // Mongols and Russia = The Mongols and Russia / Per from English. E. P. Berenstein, B. L. Gubman, O. V. Stroganova. - Tver, M.: LEAN, AGRAF, 1997. - 480 p. - 7000 copies. - ISBN 5-85929-004-6.
• Gumilyov L. N. The search for a fictitious kingdom (The legend of the "state of Prester John"). - M.: Iris-press, 2002. - S. 432. - ISBN 5-8112-0021-8.
• History of Iran from ancient times to the end of the 18th century. - L.: Leningrad University Press, 1958. - 390 p.
• Kostyukov V.P. The Iranian campaign of Hulagu: prehistory // Golden Horde civilization: Collection of articles. - Kazan: Feng Publishing House, 2009. - Issue. 2. - S. 69-89. - ISBN 978-5-9690-0101-5.
• Petrushevsky I.P. Iran and Azerbaijan under the rule of the Hulaguids (1256–1353) // Tatar-Mongols in Asia and Europe: Collection of articles. - M.: Nauka, 1977. - S. 228-259.
• Stroeva L. V. The Ismaili state in Iran in the 11th–13th centuries. - M.: Publishing house "Nauka", GRVL, 1978. - 2400 copies.
• Amitai-Preiss R. Mongols and Mamluks: the Mamluk-Īlkhānid War, 1260-1281. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. - 272 p. - ISBN 0-521-46226-6.
• Grousset R. The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia = L'Empire des steppes, Attila, Gengis-Khan, Tamerlan. - Rutgers University Press, 1970. - 687 p. - ISBN 0813513049.
• The Cambridge history of Iran. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968. - V. 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. - P. 340-352. - 762p. - ISBN 521 06936X.

Links

• Amitai R. Hulagu khan. Encyclopædia Iranica (December 15, 2004). Retrieved April 19, 2010. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012.
• Venegoni L. Hülägü's Campaign in the West (1256-1260) (English). Transoxiana. Journal Libre de Estudios Orientales. Retrieved April 19, 2010. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012.

Middle East campaign Mongolian studies

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Battle on Lake Peipsi (Battle on the Ice)
1242

Like the battle on the City River, the Battle on the Ice, known to everyone since school years, is surrounded by a host of myths, legends and pseudo-historical interpretations. It is extremely difficult to understand this heap of truth, fabrications and outright lies, or rather, to separate one from the other. In this case, the authors of this book decided to abandon the extreme versions - "there was no battle at all, there was a small skirmish between two insignificant detachments" and "the great clash of Russia with Catholic Europe, which sought to conquer all Russian lands." Maybe one or the other is right, but it is more likely that it was like this ...

The war of the Livonian Landmaster of the Teutonic Order (often called the Livonian Order, which is not entirely true) with Novgorod began in the summer of 1240, when the Livonians moved troops from the Baltic to Russia and occupied Izborsk and Pskov. Pskov was taken without a fight: most likely, at that time, an anti-Mongolian group dominated there, which considered the crusader knights a lesser evil than the Mongols, and the only reliable defense against the steppes after the Batu pogrom of Russia. But by the summer of 1241 the situation had changed. The defeat by the Mongols at Liegnitz of the combined Polish-German army, in which there were also Teutonic knights, led to the fact that native Germany was already under a clear threat. In this situation, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order could not provide any support to the Livonian knights in the east, and their own forces after the defeat in 1236 near Siauliai were small. And of course, after Liegnitz and Chaillot, the value of knights as a defense against the Mongols fell to almost zero.

The shock that engulfed Europe during the Mongol pogrom, of course, greatly facilitated the counteroffensive of the Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich. In the winter campaign of 1241-42, his army liberated Pskov, and then, moving to the eastern (considered German) shore of Lake Peipus, headed for Izborsk. The Livonian army moved towards him.

As far as can be judged, the Livonian army was quite strong, given the recent losses and the lack of help from the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. It had from thirty to fifty "full brothers", that is, full-fledged knights, and a significant number of heavily armed cavalry. It should not be forgotten that each "brother" was accompanied by his own detachment of squires, mounted sergeants of the order, mercenaries-bollards, horsemen and footmen. It is difficult to estimate the size of such a detachment: according to indirect data, it ranged from ten to thirty people. In general, this most combat-ready part of the crusading army probably numbered from six hundred to one thousand two hundred people, of which two-thirds (and perhaps more) were heavily armed cavalry. Hence, by the way, there is such a discrepancy in the issue of Livonian losses in the Battle of the Ice: the German "Rhyming Chronicle" speaks of twenty dead "brothers", not mentioning other losses at all; Russian sources speak of four hundred killed German knights. In general, it’s understandable - for Russians there was no difference between a “full brother” and, say, a sergeant: once on a horse and in armor, it means a knight.

The second and more numerous part of the Livonian army was made up of forced Estonians (in Russian sources - Chud). It was a militia, poorly armed and poorly combat-ready. Here the assessment is even more difficult, since there are no data at all in the sources. However, one argument can be made: the Estonians, who had just been conquered by the crusaders, were a very unreliable ally, and the number of such allies was always commensurate with the forces of loyal units. Simply put, the loyal part of the army must be stronger in order to be able to force the unstable contingent to obey. Taking into account the ratio of the combat effectiveness of the professional army and the militia, the number of Estonians could be from three to five thousand people, no more. Thus, the entire crusader army can be estimated, of course, very approximately, at five thousand people, of which about a thousand were professional soldiers.

Having received news of the approach of the crusader army, Alexander Nevsky turned from Izborsk to the west. Here, on the western shore of Lake Peipsi, and partly on its ice, the famous Battle of the Ice took place on April 5, 1242. The army of the Novgorod prince in this battle was not numerically inferior, but most likely slightly superior to the Livonian, but it also consisted of a poorly trained militia for the most part. The number of professional soldiers - the princely and boyar squads - hardly exceeded a thousand. It can be admitted that the forces were relatively equal - perhaps with a slight advantage of the Russians.

The offensive, however, was launched by the Livonian side. Since no acceptable description of the battle has been preserved, it can be assumed that the crusader army went on the offensive in the usual way: in front of the bollards-shooters, behind them the cavalry, and then the militia, whose tasks included the pursuit and destruction of the already defeated enemy - it is easy to solve independent combat missions couldn't.

Battle on the Ice. Miniature from a Russian annalistic code of the 16th century

The battle began with the usual skirmish, which the Russian archers withstood. This was followed by an attack by the knightly cavalry. Of course, there was no “pig”, in the style of the late infantry square, and could not be - the tactics of equestrian offensive combat do not know such formations. Perhaps due to the peculiarities of the landscape - and the Russians certainly expected a blow on the shore of the lake - the crusaders attacked with a wedge, and not with lava, which was the source of this ridiculous definition of the Livonian system. Be that as it may, the first blow of the Livonian cavalry was successful - she managed to break into the thick of the Russian army, where a fierce battle ensued. But the continuation was disastrous for the crusaders. From both flanks, the Russians hit the attacking cavalry, actually holding it in a vise. The smaller number of Livonians also had an effect. Their cavalry attack choked, and the Russians, attacking from three sides, began to squeeze the knights onto the ice of Lake Peipus. This is where most of the crusaders died.

The Estonian militia, seeing the defeat of the knights, began to retreat (or rather, rushed to run), but it was too late. The blow of the Russians destroyed the remnants of the formation, and the battle turned into a beating. The Russian chronicle writes: "... and the fall of Chudi was beschisla", that is, the defeat was complete.

The victory over the Livonian knights was extremely important in military and political terms. The onslaught of the Germans on Eastern Europe was delayed for a long time. Novgorod the Great retained the ability to maintain economic and cultural ties with European countries, defended the possibility of access to the Baltic Sea, and defended Russian lands in the North-Western region. The psychological significance of victory is also great. After heavy defeats from the Mongols, after the “death of the Russian land”, the Battle of Peipus proved that Russia is alive and capable of defeating enemies. In Novgorod, the Battle of the Germans on the Ice was remembered for a long time: back in the 16th century, it was commemorated at litanies in all Novgorod churches.

Battle of Gaza (La Forbier)
1244

The severe crisis that engulfed the crusading movement after the Fourth Crusade sharply worsened the military and political situation of the Christian states of the Levant. It did not lead, however, to a complete cessation of the practice of crusade expeditions, nor to serious direct military consequences for the Holy Land. The scale of the crusading enterprises, of course, decreased, and did not even come close in scope to the first three campaigns. Nevertheless, the crusaders managed to achieve some success. In 1229, not so much by military means as by diplomatic means, the German emperor Frederick II even managed to return holy Jerusalem to Christians by concluding a mutually beneficial agreement with the Egyptian sultan al-Kamil.

The next fifteen years for the states of the Eastern Mediterranean turned out to be quite calm. Al-Kamil strictly complied with the conditions of peace, no obstacles were placed on his part, and especially numerous Christian pilgrims during these years. But the outside world aggravated, as often happens, internal contradictions, and these years were filled mainly with internal struggles in the Kingdom of Jerusalem between the supporters of the emperor and the Palestinian barons. Frederick II himself, too busy with numerous European affairs, could not provide serious support to his adherents, and little by little the baronial aristocracy of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, headed by the house of D'Ibelin, took over.

The end in 1239 of the originally agreed ten-year truce again somewhat intensified hostilities, and the aggressive side, as a rule, were Christians. True, this did not bring them special dividends, but rather, on the contrary, only embittered the descendants of Saladin - the Egyptian Ayyubids. The death of al-Kamil, a supporter of peace, untied the hands of his descendants, and they decided to take a desperate step, calling for help in the fight against Christians the Khorezmian army, which was expelled from their homeland by the victorious Mongols and for many years wandered throughout the Near and Middle East, engaging in wars and robbery. The death of the last Khorezmshah, Jalal ad-Din, turned the remnants of the Khorezmians into an uncontrollable horde that served the highest bidder and sometimes bit its own master. By this time, the horde numbered about twenty thousand more people and represented a considerable force. It was they who were called by the successor of al-Kamil, Eyyub, and as a first payment he offered them almost defenseless Jerusalem.

The Templars follow Christ. Medieval miniature of the 13th century

In 1244, the Khorezmian horde attacked the city, which at that time was almost not fortified. The Christians did not accept the battle and lost the holy city - this time for good. The Khorezmians plundered it to the ground, but did not linger in it, but moved south, towards Egypt. Somewhere along the way, they joined up with a significant army of the Egyptian Sultan, in which the later famous Baibars served as an officer. In the Gaza region, the Muslims were overtaken by a united Christian army, and a battle took place on the plain near the village of La Forbier - as fateful as the earlier battle at Hattin.

The battle of Gaza ended in complete disaster for the Christians: more than a thousand knights died, almost all the rest of the army was taken prisoner. This defeat dealt a particularly terrible blow to the spiritual and knightly orders, which lost nine-tenths of their personnel. The tragic martyrology of the losses of the Christian army has been preserved: the Templars - three hundred and twelve brothers-knights, the Hospitallers - three hundred and twenty-five brothers-knights, the Teutons out of four hundred knights survived after the battle three (!) people. Secular feudal lords also suffered huge losses. According to the then estimate of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the total irretrievable losses of the Christian army reached sixteen thousand people. The most combat-ready part of the Christian army remained lying on the coastal plains near the border with Egypt, and the crusading states of the Levant never recovered from this blow.

Capture of Baghdad by the Mongols
1258

The Great Western Campaign of 1236-1242 was not the last in a series of conquest campaigns of the Mongol Empire. The new great Mongol Khan Mengu, who sat on a white felt mat in 1251, announces the preparation of two more all-Mongolian campaigns: one was directed against the South Chinese Song Empire, the other against the Baghdad Caliphate and Egypt. The first campaign began in 1253, with the second the case stalled for some time, since he was actively opposed by another authoritative Mongol leader - the lord of the Jochi ulus, Batu (Batu). Batu did not want to let the imperial troops cross the Amu Darya, since the territories to the west of this river, on the instructions of Genghis Khan, were assigned to the Juchi ulus. And Batu reasonably doubted that the appointed leader of the Islamic campaign, Hulagu (Mengu's brother, son of Tului, the youngest son of Genghis Khan), would later transfer the conquered territories to the house of Jochi.

Only the death of Batu in 1255 finally untied the hands of Mengu Khan. At the beginning of 1256, the all-Mongolian army created by him under the command of Hulagu crossed the Amu Darya and moved to Iran. Its first target was the almost impregnable strongholds of the Assassins located in Kuhistan (Western Iran). The Mongols, not having sufficient forces here, could not subdue them for a long time. But now the situation has changed. Hulagu had a huge army - the size of the Mongol army can be estimated at least one hundred thousand people. The halo of invincibility surrounding the Mongol army also played an important role. As a result, most of the mountain strongholds of the Assassins surrendered to the Mongols without a fight in the autumn of 1256, and only a few, including the formidable Alamut, put up not very strong resistance. After that, Hulagu orders to kill all the Assassins without exception, including women and children. The order was carried out unquestioningly and even with pleasure - the Mongols experienced an almost pathological hatred of the Assassins. Almost two hundred years of history of the terrible Ismaili kingdom of invisible killers ended ingloriously.

After the defeat of the Ismailis, the Caliphate of Baghdad became the obvious main target for the Mongols. Hulagu, however, showed his inherent subtlety of strategic thinking and, instead of a frontal strike, he began a tedious diplomatic correspondence with the Caliph Mustansir, demanding that the ruler of the Islamic world submit to the Mongol authorities. At the same time, separate corps of his army smashed potential allies of the caliph, and at the same time recruited new allies for themselves. Meanwhile, the Caliph, with indignation and very great self-confidence, rejected all the claims of the Mongol Khan. At the same time, he pinned special hopes not on his armies, but on Allah, who, of course, could not allow some godless nomads to defeat him, the heir to the Prophet Muhammad himself. The Seljuk lessons did not suit the Caliph.

Hulagu, however, did not believe in Allah, and in January 1258 he advanced with his army under the walls of Baghdad. To the surprise of the caliph, Allah did not send any snowfalls on the Mongols, similar to the one that in 1217 disrupted the campaign against Baghdad of Khorezmshah Muhammad. There was not even rain, and the pestilence expected by the caliph also for some reason bypassed the Mongol army. In addition, the steppes inflicted a heavy defeat on the field army of the Caliph not far from Baghdad, and now there was nowhere to wait for help from the city. Soon, Chinese engineers, following with the Hulagu army, deployed stone-throwing machines against the city and began a massive shelling of the ancient capital of the caliphs. By mid-February, it became clear even to the near-minded Mustansir that his position was hopeless, and he surrendered to the mercy of the Mongol ruler.

Fall of Baghdad. Persian drawing from the 14th century

Hulagu, however, showed no mercy. Since Baghdad dared to resist the Mongols, he, in full accordance with the precepts of his great grandfather, doomed the city to complete plunder and destruction. The inhabitants of Baghdad were for the most part massacred; the caliph himself did not escape this fate. On February 20, 1258, the last Abbasid caliph Mustansir was executed by order of Hulagu - more than six hundred years of the history of the Arab Caliphate ended.

Hulagu captured truly fabulous wealth in Baghdad: after all, the Abbasids had been collecting valuables for half a millennium! Ceremonial robes of the Caliph were counted in thousands, gold dinars and silver dirhams - in hundreds of thousands and millions. And according to the information transmitted by Rashid ad-Din, the Mongols managed to discover a secret well in the Caliph's palace, filled to the brim not with water, but with gold ingots. Equally abundant treasures have been seized from numerous Islamic shrines; these shrines themselves, including the famous cathedral mosque of the caliphs, were burned by order of Hulagu. Truly, those were black days for Islam.

The capture of Baghdad by the "pagans" plunged the entire Islamic world into mourning. Eschatological sentiments reigned among Muslims, which greatly facilitated further conquests for Hulagu. In the next two years, under the onslaught of the invincible steppe tumens, the strongholds of Iraq, Syria, and Palestine collapse one after another. In 1259, Hulagu's troops enter the holy city of the three world religions - Jerusalem; impregnable Damascus surrenders to them, and by the spring of 1260, the vanguard of the Mongol army under the command of Kitbuga captures Gaza on the very border with Egypt. The Muslim world is on the verge of destruction.

Battle of Ain Jalut
1260

By 1260, the Islamic world seemed doomed. After the conquest of Baghdad in 1258, the invincible Tumens of Hulagu launched their next blow against Muslim Syria. Under their onslaught impregnable Aleppo fell, and ancient Damascus, horrified by the terrible conquerors, itself opened the gates to them. The war came to the very threshold of Egypt - the only sufficiently strong Islamic state at that time. The defeat of Egypt - and Hulagu's army was obviously stronger than the Mamluk army - would mean the end of the organized and really serious resistance of Islam. The path "to the last sea" would have been opened, since the Almohad power, which received a crushing blow at Las Navas de Tolosa, was already living out its last days. However, history has chosen its own path...

In the midst of all these events, far to the east, in Karakorum, the great Khan of the Mongols Munke dies, and Hulagu, taking most of the army, hurries to the great kurultai - a meeting of the Mongol nobility - where the election of a new great khan, the leader of all Mongols, should take place. In Palestine, he leaves his vanguard of two or three tumens under the command of Kitbugi-noyon, and in order not to risk it, he orders him to refrain from active hostilities and limit himself to necessary defense. Everything seemed to be thought out enough, but the actions of Hulagu led to very difficult consequences for the Mongols and saved the almost doomed Muslim world.

The militant Mamluks who settled in Egypt were extremely encouraged by the departure of most of the Hulagu army and risked taking advantage of the chance that suddenly presented itself to them. And then they found completely unexpected allies. The spiritual and knightly monastic orders of the Templars and St. John, based in Palestine, suddenly decided to support their sworn enemies. In general, much depended on the position of the Christians, and now, when the forces of the opponents were approximately equal, their help to one of the parties could be of decisive importance at that moment. Kitbuga, being well versed in the situation, sends a friendly embassy to Acre, because the Christians are potential supporters of the Mongols, and the prince of Antioch, Bohemond, generally concluded an alliance with Hulagu. And then a group of Templars - longtime opponents of an alliance with the Mongols - kills the ambassadors. After that, there was no choice left: from the point of view of the Mongols, the murder of ambassadors is one of the worst crimes.

Mamluk cavalryman. From a 19th century painting

This act of the Templars, as well as their subsequent actions - the Templars provide the Mamluks with the opportunity to lead troops through the Kingdom of Jerusalem of the Crusaders and, thereby, go to the rear of the Kitbugi Mongols who do not expect this - to this day cause serious controversy among historians. Proponents of the Yellow Crusade 7
“The Yellow Crusade” – this is how the prominent Russian historian L.N. Gumilev. The name is due to the presence of a large number of Nestorian Christians in the Mongol army, in particular, Naiman Kitbuga was apparently also a Christian.

They directly call the Templars traitors to a certain “common cause”. Given the fact that one of the leaders of the crusaders, Prince Bohemond, went over to the side of Hulagu, the alliance of the Levantine Christians with the Mongols cannot be considered something unthinkable. But whether this would become that “common cause” is a big question. The goal of the Mongols, the goal of Hulagu, was not the defeat of Islam, but the conquest of new lands. Christians in this campaign could only be temporary allies of the Mongols. So for the Christians of the Holy Land, joining the Mongols meant the same thing as taking a tiger as an ally: it is difficult to predict whether he will tear your enemies apart or attack you. The old enemy - Egypt - was long and well known and, although it was a serious threat, it was at least a threat familiar and, in the opinion of most crusaders, not as dangerous as the invincible Mongols. After all, Europeans have not yet forgotten Liegnitz and Chaillot. In general, you can understand the Templars, but you also need to understand that the alliance with the Mongols was the last chance to maintain a Christian presence in the Holy Land - another question is for how long.

The 30,000-strong Mamluk army, which left Egypt on July 26, 1260, was commanded by Sultan Kutuz, the commander of the avant-garde was the Kipchak (Polovtsian) Baibars. As already mentioned, the Mamluks passed through the Kingdom of Jerusalem and in early September went to Galilee, to the rear of the Kitbugi Mongols. Here, on September 3, near the small village of Ain-Jalut, a battle took place that saved the Islamic world from destruction.

The forces of the opponents were, apparently, numerically approximately equal. In addition to the Mongol troops proper, there were also Armenian and Georgian detachments in the army of Kitbuga, but their combat effectiveness was low, like that of any forced soldiers. The Mamluk army consisted only of professional warriors, and, moreover, warriors who had special reasons to hate the Mongols: after all, a significant part of the Mamluks, starting with Baybars himself, were former Mongol captives captured in the Great Western Campaign of 1236-1242. Sold in the slave markets, they ended up in Egypt, where they replenished this unusual slave guard. And the desire for revenge was not the last feeling leading the Mamluks into battle.

The battle began with the attack of the Mongols. Tumens of Kitbuga crashed into the vanguard of Baybars and after an extremely fierce battle, the Mamluks began to retreat. Perhaps it was this initial bitterness that clouded the mind of the natural nomad Kitbuga. He rushed to pursue the retreating, not even suggesting that this retreat could be a false one - and after all, the tactics of a false retreat was one of the foundations of Mongolian military science. Kitbuga did not take into account that he was opposed, in fact, by the same nomads, only former ones - and he got caught. When his tumens were sufficiently involved in the pursuit, the Mamluks of Qutuz attacked the Mongol army from both flanks from behind low hills. The vanguard of Baybars turned around and also struck at the confused Mongols.

The defeat of the Mongol army was complete. Almost no one was able to escape from the hellish ring of death. The commander of the Mongols, Kitbuga, was also captured: he was later executed on the orders of Kutuz. Only a very small part of the Mongol army managed to escape, but, pursued by the Mamluks, they fled far to the north. It is also interesting that in this battle, as in Chaillot, unusual weapons were used, only now not by the Mongols, but by their opponents. At the battle of Ain Jalut, a whole series of ingenious means were used to frighten the Mongol horses and throw confusion into the enemy ranks: incendiary arrows, rockets, small midfa cannons, "spark throwers" tied to spears, bundles of powder firecrackers on poles. In order not to burn themselves, their carriers dressed in thick woolen clothes and covered the exposed parts of the body with talcum powder. This is one of the earliest uses of gunpowder known to us in history.

The victory at Ain Jalut greatly encouraged the Mamluks. After her, the Mamluks rushed forward, captured Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo and most of Syria. Baybars himself was now at the head of them, in October 1260 he killed Kutuz and proclaimed himself the new sultan of Egypt and Syria. Only at the Euphrates, the Mamluk troops were stopped by the Hulagu army hastily transferred from Mongolia. But here a new blow awaits the Mongol Ilkhan: Batu's brother Berke is moving against him with a huge army, having declared the claims of the Jochids to Arran and Azerbaijan, bequeathed to them by Genghis Khan. Hulagu moved his army towards him, and on the banks of the Terek, an exceptionally bloody battle took place between the two Mongol armies. Hulagu suffered a heavy defeat in this battle, and the enormous losses suffered by his army did not allow him to seize the initiative again on the Islamic front. A fairly stable status quo has developed in Western Asia. The Islamic world survived, and the Mamluks were able to cope with their ancient enemy - the crusaders of the Levant.

Fall of the capital of the Caliphate - Baghdad and Sham

Before proceeding to the description of the battle of Ain Jalut, we consider it appropriate to briefly consider the socio-political situation in the Middle East at that time. In particular, after the fall of the capital of the Islamic Caliphate - Baghdad.

In 1250, Munke was elected the fourth Great Khan of the Mongols. He set himself two main goals: to destroy the Ismailis in Iran and to extend his power to the rest of the Islamic world up to the most remote points of Egypt.

Möncke entrusted the execution of this task to his brother Hulagu, to whom he donated the region of Persia and the western vilayets. After they coped with the first task, in February 1258, the Mongol armies besieged the capital of the Caliphate - Baghdad, then stormed and destroyed it. The caliph left the city and unconditionally surrendered himself to the Mongol leader after Hulagu guaranteed his safety. These tragic events ended with the assassination of Caliph al-Mustasim. Then the cities of Hilla, Kufa, Wasit and Mosul capitulated. With the fall of Baghdad and the assassination of Caliph al-Mustasim, the period of existence of the state of the Abbasid Caliphate ended, which lasted more than five centuries.

The fall of Baghdad dealt a severe blow to Muslim civilization and culture. It was a center of sciences, literature and arts, rich in its scholars, theologians, writers, philosophers and poets. Thousands of scholars, theologians, writers and poets were killed in Baghdad, and those who managed to escape fled to Sham and Egypt. Libraries were burned, madrasahs and institutions were destroyed, Islamic historical and other monuments were destroyed. The unity of the Islamic world suffered a severe blow, and the rallying of Muslims became impossible after the subjugation of many Muslim rulers to the Mongols.

Christians in various corners of the earth rejoiced and greeted Hulagu and his wife Tukuz Khatun, who professed Nestorian Christianity.

Naturally, the conquest of Iraq was to be followed by an attack on Sham. Sham at that time was dominated by three forces: Muslims represented by Ayyubid rulers and emirs, crusaders and Armenians in Cilicia.

The Muslims ruled the cities of Mayafarikin, Karak, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Damascus, and the Kaifa fortress. However, they felt the need to unite their forces, because each emir acted independently, which weakened their strength in the face of the Mongols.

As for the western crusaders, they took the position of hesitating towards the Mongols and leaning towards the Muslims. Bohemond VI, prince of Antioch, joined the Mongol movement, supported it and took part in it. So did Hethum, the king of Lesser Armenia in Cilicia. However, Bohemond VI decided to take this step only as the husband of Hethum's daughter and his ally.

The Armenians in Cilicia allied with the Mongols and pushed them to destroy the Abbasid Caliphate and the Ayyubids in Sham. They took part with the Mongols in the war against the Muslims. Hethum believed that the opportunity had come for the deliverance of Sham, and in particular Jerusalem, from the Muslims.

At that time an-Nasir Yusuf, the ruler of Damascus and Aleppo, was the most powerful Ayyubid emir. He was afraid of the Mongol offensive and assumed that sooner or later Hulagu and his army would capture Sham and that this country would not find someone who would protect it from the Mongols and Mamluks of Egypt. An-Nasyr was at enmity with the latter, believing that the power in Egypt and Sham, as the descendants of Salahuddin al-Ayubi, belonged to the Ayubids. Therefore, an-Nasir Yusuf refused to help al-Ashraf, the son of al-Malik al-Ghazi, the Mayafarikin ruler, who asked for help in resisting the Mongols. He also sent his son al-Aziz Muhammad to Hulagu with gifts for him, expressing his obedience and friendliness to him and asking him to provide military assistance for the return of Egypt from the hands of the Mamluks.

It is likely that Hulagu doubted the sincerity of an-Nasyr, because the latter did not come to him himself to demonstrate his friendship and obedience to him and then ask for his alliance against the Mamluks in Egypt. Therefore, Hulagu sent a letter in which he ordered him to come to him and express his obedience without any conditions and reservations. An-Nasir was not ready to forge close ties with the Mongols at that time, for he was strongly censured by the Muslim emirs because of his rapprochement with the Mongols. Therefore, he showed enmity to Hulagu and went from Damascus to Karak and Shubak.

In 1259, Hulagu led his troops to capture the northwestern part of Sham. Under his onslaught, the cities of Mayafarikin, Nusaybin, Harran, Edessa, al-Bira and Harim fell. Then he headed towards Aleppo and surrounded him from all sides. The garrison of the city under the leadership of al-Malik Turanshah ibn Salahuddin refused to surrender to the Mongol troops, and therefore in January 1260 it was decided to storm it. As a result, Aleppo came under the rule of the Mongols.

As a result of these quick and decisive victories of the Mongols, the killings, expulsions and destruction that accompanied these successes, fear gripped all of Sham. Then an-Nasir Yusuf realized that he alone could not resist the forces of the Mongols, and decided to ask for help from the Mamluks of Egypt.

The danger of the situation forced the ruler of Egypt, al-Malik al-Muzaffar Sayfuddin Qutuz (1259-1260), to forget the malice and hatred emanating from the rooted enmity between him and al-Malik an-Nasir, and to accept his request for military assistance to him as soon as possible.

Kutuz was alarmed by the rapid advance of the Mongol troops. Therefore, he wanted to create an alliance through which he would strengthen the Islamic front, however, it is likely that he also wanted to deceive an-Nasyr Yusuf in order to seize his possessions. This is supported by the fact that he did not hasten to help him and tried to win his adherents to his side when they went to Egypt. The cunning of Qutuz is also revealed in the content of his letter, which he sent to an-Nasir Yusuf. In a letter, Qutuz informs him of the acceptance of his proposal, and even considers an-Nasir, as a descendant of Salahuddin, the ruler of all the possessions that were previously subordinate to the Ayyubids, including Egypt. He also added that there was only one leader for him, and promised to transfer power over Egypt to an-Nasyr, if he wished to come to Cairo. He even offered to send an army to Damascus to save him the trouble of arriving in Cairo himself, if he doubted the sincerity of his intentions.

When the Mongols approached Damascus, the defenders of the city had already abandoned it. Also, an-Nasir Yusuf did not try to defend the city, he left it and went to Gaza along with his Mamluks from among the Nasirs and Azizites and a number of Mamluks-Bakhrits, among whom was the famous commander Baibars al-Bundukdari. An-Nasyr wanted to be closer to the help that Qutuz had promised him. He left Damascus under the leadership of his vizier Zainuddin al-Khafizi.

The noble people of Damascus, taking into account the destruction and destruction of the population that happened in the cities that resisted the Mongols, decided to surrender the city of Hulagu. And in fact, the Mongol army entered the city in February 1260 without the shedding of blood. However, the citadel resisted them. Then the Mongols stormed it by force and destroyed it. It happened in May 1260 from the birth of Christ.

Thus, Hulagu prepared for the further conquest of the Islamic world, including Egypt.

To be continued.

This is the story of how the all-powerful power of the Mongol military campaigns, which lasted for a whole century, was exhausted among the sandy hills of Ain-Jalut in the Sinai desert. The heroic end of Kit Buka became the last song of Mongol greatness. So let this song today be a call that will awaken the courage that has faded in us, inspire our mind, restore bewildered faith and awaken dormant strength in us.

For this historical essay, the journalist and writer Baasangin Nominchimid was awarded the Baldorzh Prize in 2010, awarded in Mongolia for the best journalistic works. For the first time in Russian - translated by S. Erdembileg especially for ARD.

In the sands of distant Palestine, the wind of victory subsides,

There, a brave army dies under clouds of arrows.

Cuman grooms stabbed their daggers in the back of their owners,

The knights, blinded by gold, exchanged friends for enemies.

The army fought valiantly, without losing courage -

Alas, the perfidy that stole the victory happened there.

Let's honor their memory

About 750 years ago, on September 3, 1260, in the southwest of the city of Nazareth of today's State of Israel, near the border with Palestine, the Mongol army was utterly defeated by the combined forces of the Islamic army. Approximately 10 thousand Mongol warriors, and among them the glorious commander of the Mongol Empire - Kit Buka, found eternal rest in that land.

For a whole century, the victoriously developing banner of the Mongol army bowed there for the first time, and the Mongol warriors, who hitherto did not know defeat, tasted the bitterness of the pogrom there for the first time.

Many historians evaluate the battle of Ain Jalut as a historical event, where the Mongol conquest campaigns were first rebuffed, the battle that brought salvation to the Arab-Muslim world from complete defeat. And we can agree with this.

* The Mongol army was commanded by Shikhihutag, he had three tumens at his disposal, one tumen numbered 10,000 soldiers.

But still, for the first time, the Mongol army suffered a major defeat during the campaign of Genghis Khan against Khorezm. This happened in the battle of the Mongol troops * with the army of Jalal-ad-Din at Paravan, in 1221 on the territory of modern Afghanistan. Then the defeat was tangible, but it did not have an impact on the outcome of the Khorezm campaign, the purpose of which was to conquer Khorezm and Iran. This defeat did not weaken the offensive impulse of the Mongols. Their army, led by Genghis Khan himself, pursued the army of Jalal-ad-Din to the banks of the Indus, where it was finally defeated in 1221.

As for Ain Jalut, the defeat of the Mongol forces undoubtedly saved the Arab world and Misir (modern Egypt) from final conquest. We can assume that from that moment the wheel of history began to turn in the opposite direction. After this battle, there could no longer be any talk of the Mongols conquering Egypt. The final conquest of Syria, Phenicia, Palestine was not only not completed, but they were completely lost. The army was forced to move back to the eastern bank of the Euphrates.

In various historical sources, the number of troops from both sides participating in the battle of Ain Jalut is rather contradictory. Most historians agree that the Kitbuk army numbered from 10 to 15 thousand soldiers. The Mamluk troops numbered much more soldiers, maybe 2-3 times.

Emir Baibars, contemporary image.

Thus, for 6,000 kilometers away from their native steppes, approximately one tumen of Mongol warriors under the banner of the batyr Kit Buk, together with their small allies, met in a deadly slaughter with significantly superior enemy forces. near the Mongols, it was not the Arabs who resisted, but the warriors of Turkic blood under the command of Kutuz and Baibars - one might say, close relatives by origin, no less brave and skillful warriors, determined to die or win.

Storm clouds over the Islamic world

On February 13, 1258, the completely exhausted Baghdad knelt before the soldiers of Hulagu Khan. The Caliph of Baghdad, without food and water, was imprisoned in the repository of his treasures - Hulagu Khan advised him to eat gold, drinking silver. In the Muslim world, the fall of Baghdad for 500 years of unconquerable was like a bolt from the blue.

And it seemed to Christians that the sun was rising in the east, favoring their world. Europe rejoiced - finally, their dream of many centuries will come true, Hulagu Khan comes to liberate the Holy Land ...

The Armenians also rejoiced. Their historian Kirakos wrote: “This city, like an insatiable, gluttonous spider, devastated the whole world for hundreds of years. For the immeasurably shed blood, for extreme cruelty and despotism, for the grave sins of his sky punished this city, and he fell.

Hulagu Khan, before the capture of Baghdad, also put an end to the formidable force of the Islamic world - the Ismailis, led by their leader, the so-called Mountain Elder. The Ismailis were a guild of assassins who for centuries terrified the Muslim world. Not only to fight with them - anyone who dared to contradict their will was doomed to certain death. But the Mongols dealt with them without much difficulty, mocked his heir, leading him around the city, and then executed him.

Fall of Baghdad. From the miniatures of Mongolian Iran, early. 14th c. Illustrations for Jami at-tawarikh Rashid-ad-din. Photo culturelandshaft.wordpress.com

Hulagu Khan, not staying long in the fallen Baghdad, moved to the other side of the Euphrates. By the beginning of 1260, Aleppo was taken, then the nearby cities and fortresses fell one by one. However, Hulagu Khan was forced to return.

There were good reasons for this.

The great Khan Munke died, the dispute over the succession to the throne between the brothers Hulagu, Kublai and Arigbuha reached the brink of civil war.

Berke, Khan of the Golden Horde, who converted to Islam, was dissatisfied with the oppression of Muslims and the destruction of Baghdad - the patrimony of the Islamic world.

In the Caucasus, mutual strife created a real threat on the northern borders of possessions.

Leaving Syria, Hulagu appointed his commander Kit Buka as the ruler of this country, instructing him not only to complete its conquest, but also to conquer Misir, for which he left an army of one tumen under his command. Is it possible to conquer Syria, Palestine, the entire Arabian Peninsula and Misir with such forces? After all, the warriors of these lands have gained considerable experience and hardened in numerous difficult battles with the crusaders for more than a century. But to the Mongols, who at that time were at the height of their power, who were invariably accompanied by a fair wind of victories and successes, nothing seemed impossible.

Without losing much time, Kit Buka moved south, Homs, Baalbek, other cities and fortresses were taken, it was the turn of Damascus. The famous swords made of Damascus steel did not help, the city submitted.

The Sultan of Aleppo, an-Nasir Yusuf, who had taken refuge in Damascus, again went on the run. The warriors of Kit Buka pursued the Sultan, caught up with him and captured him in the territory of the modern Gaza Strip. Not only Syria, but Palestine as a whole was conquered. The cities of Sidon, Tours, Acre, located on a narrow coastal strip of the sea, and the area of ​​Trifol adjacent to it, remained under the control of the crusaders.

Thus, by the middle of 1260, the entire Islamic world was on the verge of collapse. Their last hope was the Mamluk Turks in Misir. It is at that decisive moment that the Battle of Ain Jalut takes place.

The betrayal of the cynical barons who turned the wheel of history back

Kit Buka Noyon is located in the city of Baalbek, in the east of today's Israel. The princes professing Christianity, the barons - the Templars of the Middle East and Asia Minor - whether they wanted it or not, became allies of the Mongols. After all, their common enemy was the Islamic world. Prior to this, all of Europe had undertaken four crusades to liberate the Holy Land, all to no avail. Hulagu Khan's offensive awakened hope in them. At last the Holy Land will be free. Now the Arabs will not be able to dislodge the crusaders from the lands they have conquered.

The image of Kit Buk noyon rises before us in the halo of military prowess. It is seen how he triumphantly enters the main gates of Damascus, accompanied by the honorary escort of the Armenian king Hethum, a descendant of the ancient aristocratic nobility and Behomed VI, king of Antioch.

Here he sits majestically, comfortably seated in a spacious, cool tent set up for him as a token of respect by the local crusader barons. And in front of him stands, kneeling, Sultan an-Nasir-Yusuf, the grandson of the famous Saladin, the winner of the Crusaders, captured in Gaza.

Persian medieval miniature. Battle of two warriors. Early 15th century Persian-Mongolian school of painting. Image by Burstein Collection/CORBIS

But Kit Buka was only one of the many noyons - temniks of Hulagu Khan. And Hulagu Khan himself was only the ruler of one of the wings of the Great Mongol Empire. At that time, this empire was comparable only to the boundless ocean, the boundless sky. It was the moment of her highest power, she was at the zenith of her glory. At the same time, the last round of this power was coming. The inevitable sunset was approaching.

There are many cases in the deeds of history when seemingly insignificant events turn its course in the other direction. In this case, it is associated with a knight from the Franks, nicknamed Long-legged Julien, ruler of the city of Sidon.

During the Crusades, the barons who came from Europe were famous for their cunning, greed and unscrupulousness. Long-legged Julien was no different from them. The Mongols, wherever they went, established their own rules, the strictest discipline, inexorably suppressing any violation. The arbitrariness of the barons was put to an end. Therefore, the barons hid - they seemed to have reconciled, because the Mongols are stronger and go to war against the Muslims, their sworn enemies. However, greed let down the barons. And, as it turned out later, not only them, but the entire Christian world.

It happened that one day Kit Buka received a report which at first he could not believe. It would seem that the barons loyal to him stole all the reserve herds of horses, slaughtering the soldiers guarding them - simply speaking, they committed a robbery. This has never happened before, to encroach on the horses of their actual allies, while a common enemy is at the doorstep. Impossible to believe. This is more than a violation of allied relations, it is not even non-observance of neutrality. This is a traitorous act.

Louis IX with troops on the Crusade. Photo - Wikipedia.

The perfidy was committed against Kit Buk, a Nestorian professing Christian, in favor of a common Islamic enemy. It's like turning your face away from your religion, at that very, perhaps, the only real historical moment, when Jerusalem was at arm's length, the place where the Holy of Holies, the Holy Sepulcher, was kept. One joint campaign, and Jerusalem would be returned to the Christian world. It can't be so stupid!

Again, to betray the Mongols at the height of their power - perhaps to put your head in a noose yourself. You can turn away from the Mongols, you can turn to the Mamluks, but will they be accepted by those...

Kit Buka Noyon did not want to believe in treason and therefore sent his grandson, accompanied by a small detachment of 200 people, to Sidon to meet with Julien in order to eliminate the misunderstanding and return the herds of horses.

But a thief steals to steal, a robber robs to rob. It would be hard to expect Julien to say: “Excuse me, did these horses belong to the Mongols? And I didn't know." The thieves' soul remained thieves'. Worse: as the Mongols say, “a shamed person can even go as far as murder” - Long-legged Julien slaughtered the grandson of Kit Buk (in some sources they write - a son) along with the soldiers accompanying him, and ordered the horses to be driven to the seashore in Acre. He drove closer to the Mamluks, agreed on this with the barons of Acre and Tire. What kind of barons are there - noble blood - “murderers and thieves of noble blood”.

Enraged by an act unthinkable for the Mongols, Kit Buka led his army to Sidon and laid siege to it. Although Long-legged Julien was cunning and unscrupulous, he could not be denied chivalrous courage. Desperately, he defended his city, but, in the end, he was forced to board a ship with his entourage and flee to the island of Cyprus. The Mongols did not have ships to chase him.

In retaliation, Sidon was destroyed and burned to the ground. It turned out that Julien traded his city for herds of horses. The price for the herds turned out to be expensive. But their value did not stop there.

The crusaders, who showed themselves to be insignificant horse thieves, not only received the burnt Sidon, but subsequently lost all the lands that belonged to them in Syria. And they themselves, one by one, were destroyed precisely by those to whom they sold the horses. Ultimately, the presence of the crusaders in the Middle East was completely lost. This will be discussed here later.

Scattered throughout Syria, the ashes of Sidon, until recently the main pillar of Christianity in the Middle East, aroused the anger of the barons of Acre and Tours.

Continuation - on ARD.

For centuries, Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, whose rulers were descendants of Muhammad's uncle Abbas. In the middle of the 8th century they overthrew the Umayyads and moved the capital of the Caliphate from Damascus to Baghdad. Since then, the city has grown and prospered, at the peak of its development, the number of citizens reached almost a million people, and 60 thousand soldiers guarded the capital. The city was a cultural capital, famous for its beautiful palaces and mosques, a library that kept the most important knowledge accumulated over the centuries, and rare handwritten scrolls. However, by the middle of the 13th century, the Abbasid house began to lose its influence, the caliph was under the rule of Turkic-speaking military leaders and the Mamluks. But Baghdad continued to be a rich city and cultural center.

The Mongol empire expanded in the east and increasingly paid attention to the lands of the Abbasids. The caliphs tried to keep peace with the Mongols, even sending their soldiers to them as a tribute. However, despite this, the Mongols made several attempts to capture Baghdad, but the city repulsed their claims both in 1238 and in 1245. The Mongols did not abandon their attempts to subjugate the Caliphate and demanded that the Caliph of Baghdad submit to the Khagan and personally come to the capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum . The illustrious dynasty did not take this step. Then in 1257, the grandson of Genghis Khan and the ruler of the Mongols Munke firmly decided to establish his power in Mesopotamia, Syria and Iran.

The device of Baghdad

The military campaign, which was called the Yellow Crusade, was entrusted by the kagan to his brother Hulagu. One of the tasks was the subjugation of the Abbasid Caliphate and the payment of tribute by soldiers in order to strengthen the Mongol army. In case of disobedience, Munch ordered the destruction of Baghdad. Hulagu began preparations for the campaign and ordered every tenth man fit for war by age to be taken into the army. In this way the Mongols mustered about 150,000 men, their largest army, according to some sources. The Mongol army was significantly reinforced by Christians: it included Armenians led by their king, French Christians from Antioch, Georgians who were eager to avenge the devastation of Tiflis, and Nestorian Christians. There is also mention of a thousand Chinese engineers who accompanied the Mongol army, of Persian and Turkic mercenaries.

Khan Hulagu

Hulagu's army showed its power in subjugating the Lurs and the Assassins (as the Nizari Ismailis were called). The Mongols almost without a fight took the impregnable fortress of Alamut and moved to Baghdad. Hulagu sent an envoy to the Baghdad caliph al-Mustasim with Munke's demands. However, the caliph refused to submit to them, and largely thanks to his adviser and grand vizier Ibn al-Alkami. He was later accused of incompetence and misjudging the danger of a Mongol invasion. The vizier convinced al-Mustasim that Baghdad was safe, and in which case, the entire Islamic world would stand up for him. The arrogant caliph rather sharply and insultingly responded to Hulagu's proposal. The Mongols began preparations for the siege and stopped any negotiations. The Caliph of Baghdad, however, calmed down and did not even bother to order to gather troops and strengthen the city walls. This frivolity of the ruler will turn into a catastrophe for all his subjects.

Battle near the walls of Baghdad

On January 11, 1258, the Mongol army approached the walls of the city. Hulagu transported part of the soldiers to the other side of the Tigris River and thus took Baghdad "in pincers." Then al-Mustasim realized the seriousness of what was happening and sent about 20,000 cavalry to give battle to the Mongols. But almost the entire detachment was destroyed. Mongolian sappers broke through the dikes along the Tigris and the Abbasid army drowned. The caliph called for about 50,000 soldiers to defend the city, but the people were poorly equipped, discipline in the army was also lame. Al-Musta'sim could have invited soldiers from other Muslim empires, but he neglected this opportunity.

The siege of Baghdad began on 29 January. Chinese engineers ordered to dig a ditch around the city, installed catapults, surrounded the city with a palisade and siege structures. By February 5, the Mongols were able to recapture part of the city wall. Realizing that there was little chance of victory, the caliph tried to enter into negotiations with Hulagu, but the insulted Mongol commander decided to go to the end, as his brother ordered him. On February 10, Baghdad surrendered. Three days later the Mongols entered the city. Hulagu gave the capital of the Caliphate to be plundered for a week.

City siege

The Mongols staged a real massacre, they did not spare anyone. Those who tried to escape from the capital were caught by Hulagu's people and mercilessly killed. Until now, historians cannot establish the exact number of victims, some say more than 100,000 people, others believe that the Mongols killed about a million people. The streets were covered in blood and the city filled with the dead. The stench from the corpses was so unbearable that the Mongols moved their headquarters to the leeward side of Baghdad. Hulagu did not hesitate to crack down not only on the inhabitants of the city, but also on its cultural heritage. Beautiful palaces, mosques, hospitals, government buildings, the House of Wisdom - the Islamic Academy and its library, which contained the most important scientific manuscripts of that time in medicine, astronomy and other fields, were destroyed. Books and scrolls were thrown into the river to cross it. They say that the Tiger was black from the ink washed off the scrolls and red from the blood of scientists and philosophers. The city was in flames and agony.

Caliph al-Mustasim was captured and forced to watch the death of his people, after which the Mongols dealt with him. According to one report, he was trampled. The Mongols wrapped the Caliph in a carpet and led their cavalry over him. They hoped that in this way the earth would not be offended, that they shed royal blood. However, the famous traveler Marco Polo claimed that Hulagu locked the caliph in a treasury, among gold and precious stones, without food and water, and he "died like a dog." All the children of the caliph, except for one, were destroyed. The only survivor was sent to Hagan Munk in Mongolia, where he lived without any political power and influence.

Caliph imprisoned in a treasure tower

Baghdad lay in ruins, it took more than one century to restore the city. The population was exterminated, buildings and cultural monuments were destroyed, the irrigation system was destroyed and agriculture fell into decay. The ruin of the city led to the decline of the Islamic Golden Age and the end of the Abbasin dynasty. According to scientists, the fall of Baghdad was a heavy blow for the Muslim world: Islam became more conservative and intolerant, and the intellectual potential of civilization was sunk in the waters of the Tigris.